Shortly after Petit Le Mans, a Formula Le Mans carried did its first laps on the noth american continent. The event took place on the circuit of Road Atlanta and fifteen drivers tested the star of the new category launched by IMSA and American Le Mans Series recently : Le Mans Prototype Mans Challenge.
Among the drivers who could take the track at the wheel of the French prototype, Gunnar Jeanette, which counts several participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, covered a small dozen of laps in order to have a first idea about the car. At the end of this short testing session, the opinion of the American driver was resolutely positive. “After that the first flying lap I definitely had a smile on my face” says Jeanette. It’s a real prototype. You can feel that the motor doesn’t have that last bit of power a turbo P2 engine has, but that’s not critical in this car because all of the engines are the same. It gets up and moves, for sure, and the Chevy is completely linear in its power delivery. It’s not like driving a super peaky turbo car or anything like that where you really have to keep it in a small rev range. It’s not so powerful that a gentleman driver will be overwhelmed, but it’s not so underpowered that professional drivers will get bored. It’s a nice balance. Regarding aerodynamics, it’s also very balanced.”
At the announced price of $397,500 (or $357,500 for a used Formula Le Mans chassis), the series plans to deliver each car turn-key 10 weeks after an initial deposit is made, with a manual provided to each new owner on the care and feeding of the FLM09, and a base setup sheet provided by ORECA.
To get more informations, please contact Scott Elking (Vice President, Operations, IMSA) : selkins@imsaracing.net
